While at Viva Las Vegas last month, I did two great photo shoots. The first was with the lovely and talented Tara O., who was a blast to work with! Tara’s full of energy and ideas, and knows exactly how to direct inexperienced models like me. She’s also great at finding amazing settings and angles that most people would never notice, let alone consider.

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Hey guys! The lovely Vanessa just posted my piece on accessorizing vintage-inspired fashions with real vintage items to the Pinup Girl Clothing official blog. In the article, I’ve included items from my period jewelry and accessories collection that look great with my Pinup Girl Clothing fashions! Hope you enjoy it.

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I’ve meant to share these for a while, but everything seems to get in the way.

Trashy Diva 40s Dress in Olivine Floral.

First, Trashy Diva’s 40s Dress in Olivine Floral, Doll Dress in Slap ‘n’ Tickle, and Honey Dress in Fuchsia stretch satin. I’ve had the 40s dress for nearly a year, but the others are new.

Love the fit of the Doll Dress, though the Honey is a wee bit big in the armscyes and waist. My current measurements are 44-32.5-48″, and I’m wearing size 16 in both (and size 18 in the 40s dress; the Olivine Floral version ran small).

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I was impressed by the adorable Hell Bunny brand sundresses some of my friends were sharing on Facebook, so I decided to buy one three of my own!

Since a wide selection of Hell Bunny clothing isn’t readily available in my neck of the woods (California), I purchased my dresses from Sirens & Starlets, a UK Ebay Store that came recommended by a fellow pin-up style fan in New Zealand. Even from far across the pond, S&S delivered promptly (within ten days) and with excellent service.

Best of all, the dresses fit perfectly and look amazingly cute! I purchased the Olive (mint green), Vanity (black, white, and red), and Motley (black and white) in UK 18/2x, as that is what seemed to best suit my 44-33.5-49″ measurements. Since these styles all feature an elasticized back, there was some concern that they might be too big in the bust.

Hell Bunny Vanity Dress.

While I could probably size down without trouble (my waist measurement matches the xl size according to the fitting charts), it wasn’t necessary. For the Hell Bunny dresses that don’t come in plus sizes (I’m looking at you, Kiki dress!), it’s comforting to know that the XL size is there for me to try.

The cotton fabric is light and crisp, perfect for warm springs and hot summers. I’m planning on wearing these three in Las Vegas come April, which should be pretty warm! Even though it’s still February, north-central California’s weather has been mild enough for me to wear two of my new dresses with cardigans!

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I recently purchased two barely worn Pinup Couture Laura Tops (size XL, in white and red) from a groovy fellow Pinup Girl Clothing fan. The price was right, their condition is excellent, and the tops seemed like a great way to solve my perpetual problem finding cute, casual tops right for wear with jeans and crops. While the Lauras are cute (love the heart buttons at the neckline), well-made, and comfortable, they aren’t quite what I was hoping for.

First, the tops are short. Whenever I sit or bend over, they pop right up around my waist, leaving my lower back skin exposed. This issue likely unresolvable by sizing up to the 2x, as both the XL and 2x are 24 inches long.

Second, the tops are not long/big enough in the chest area, as the underbust seam hovers just above my bra underwire. While it’s still comfortable and looks fine, this doesn’t bode well for people with truly large or round boobs (i.e., bigger and better boobs than mine, which are fairly average for a person of my height and size). My bust measures 43-44″ and usually takes a 36/38DD/DDD bra, which puts me squarely in the XL area (40-45″) according to the size chart.

Ironically, some Laura Top reviewers have mentioned that despite falling well within the bust range recommended by the size charts, they felt that their boobs did not adequately fill up the bodice space provided. While I wasn’t expecting this to happen to me, I wasn’t expecting to ride the upper end of plausible fit, either. :/

Third, the stretch jersey fabric clings. Maybe this would be less of a problem if I sized up, but the top is already big enough around the waist to give a practical, comfortable fit. I have loose skin on my midriff from major weight loss that peeks through no matter how thin I get, which makes me feel incredibly self-conscious (and is in fact one of the major reasons why I have issues finding fitted knit tops I feel comfortable wearing). Wearing the tops over Spanx or tucked into a high-waisted skirt solves this problem, but that kind of negates my whole reason for buying them in the first place; I wanted to wear them with jeans and crops!

Something else to consider is the darker colorways run a bit smaller than the lighter ones. In my case, the red fits a tad more snugly than the white. Additionally, the white fabric is somewhat sheer; the bodice is self-lined, but the lower part is not. Those who are looking for a bit more coverage in the boob area and more “disguise” in the midriff region may have better luck with the long-sleeved, surplice-bodiced Gia Top, which comes in the same fabric and some of the same colorways.

I’m still on the fence about what I will do with my Lauras. I may trade these up for the larger size and see how I fare, or I may keep them and use them as I can until I lose a bit more weight.

ETA: I ordered the black and pink Laura tops in the larger size (2x), and discovered that the extra fabric in the waist helped alleviate some of the showthrough!

At any rate, stay tuned for some new clothing posts and reviews! I’m anxiously awaiting an order of Hell Bunny dresses from UK-based online store Sirens & Starlets.

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I get lots of email requesting ad link exchanges/sales and product/service reviews, so I felt it was time to officially present my policy on the matter to save us all time and hassle.

1. No one-sided link requests. I will only free-link resources which I either personally endorse or feel provide useful, pertinent content to my visitors. Sometimes I will do a link exchange, but only if the site in question meets the above criteria and maintains a reasonably visible link back to Strangegirl.com. Despite my best efforts to present truly useful outside links, I cannot personally guarantee the quality of any outgoing link presented on my site. This is particularly true as time passes (sites disappear, change, &c.).

2. I do not link dating sites, random online communities (unless I have had good firsthand experiences with the communities in question), link farms, or sites that go beyond my general PG-13 comfort level. This goes for paid links as well as free ones. That said, sometimes Google Ads serves up some oddities. While I try to weed out Google adlinks that don’t meet my standards, the nature of the AdSense beast is unpredictable. For that reason, don’t use the Google Ads you see on my site as a measure of your potential success.

2. In general, I do not free-link commercial sites. On occasion, I will free-link a commercial site that I feel has significant free content OR has provided me with excellent service, but this is relatively rare. Don’t ask for it.

3. I don’t buy content and guest blogging is limited to people I specifically ask to contribute.

4. I will mark any paid advertisements (including links) appearing on my site. This usually means that I’ll provide some sort of sponsorship proviso for the sake of my visitors, as well as a rel=nofollow link tag attribute for the sake of Googlebot.

5. All linking and ad agreements are unique. Rates, placement, and other agreement elements will vary with circumstances.

6. I reserve the right to remove links, paid or otherwise, that point to content which I feel is offensive (to me or my site visitors), fraudulent, dangerous (e.g. points to sites infested with malware, &c.), and the like. Remaining time on the agreement will not be refunded.

7. I will not update your ads. Make sure you submit correct code, copy, and imagery to me upon our initial agreement or at renewal time. Occasionally, a well-meaning adbuyer may have good reason to ask for an update; I will consider each of those requests on a case-by-case basis.

8. If you’re interested in providing goods or services for review, get in touch. Please note that items/services reviewed must meet the theme requirements of my site. Anything related to Jane Austen (particularly Emma), vintage fashion, vintage decor, pinup, and the like is most likely to appeal to my readers. Please note that I will state somewhere in my review that the items/services were provided to me for free (or, under rare circumstances, at a significant discount) for the purpose of review. While I strive for positivity on my blog, my reviews will be honest. In the rare circumstance that goods or services provided for review do not meet basic quality standards, I may opt not to publish a review. This is to the advantage of the item/service provider. Finally, I cannot return items presented for review.

9. I reserve the right to change and add to my policy – without notice – as time goes on.

Thank you.

If you want to buy an ad on any of my websites, please get in touch. Describe the ads you’d like to place. Remember to include specific URLs and precise information about your budget.